Evening wrap



April 18, 1939. A. BRIEFF 2,155,077

EVENING WRAP Filed June 11, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet l JA/VENTWP 5 00096 (SW/Eff April 18, 1939. A. BRIEFF 2,155,077

I EVENING WRAP Filed June 11, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1N VEN 70R W4, WLZI44V Patented Apr. 18, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

My invention relates to a novel wrap of velvet and flannel, the flannel being employed in combination with the velvet to prevent the velvet from sagging and to reinforce it at the joining seams 5 of the wrap.

In evening wraps made of velvet a great many difficulties are experienced because of the nature of the velvet which must be employed for these wraps. Although velvet has a beautiful sheen and a fine appearance and, according to custom, is the essential material for evening wraps, it does lack strength and shows a great tendency to pull apart at the seams under ordinary tensions. Further, when the wrap is hung, it sags and pulls out of shape. It also lacks the necessary warmth for winter apparel and wrinkles easily. These difficulties, especially with regard to the tendency to open at the seams and to sag, cause many returns and hence a serious loss in the trade.

I have conceived a new assembly of materials whereby all these difliculties are eliminated and a novel construction made possible in which all of the above-mentioned defects are completely eliminated.

I form my novel construction by superimposing a fleecy material such as flannel or lambs wool on to velvet, such as transparent or chiffon velvet, and cut the two together to form a section of the proper size for the evening wrap. Thereupon the flannel and velvet are secured to each other by a stitching which runs around adjacent the periphery of the section. Two such sections are joined in the formation of the garment by means of a seam that runs approximately one-half inch within the border of the separate sections. The raw edge of this seam is thus turned inwardly.

This particular construction, although simple in form, produces many new and unexpected results. First, because of the fleecy nature of the flannel, it supports the velvet which it engages by means of frictional contact and prevents any sectional sagging of the velvet material. As has been indicated above, this is extremely important inasmuch as the appearance of the garment is detrimentally eiiected by any sagging of the lines of the velvet material. This is particularly true since velvet is a straight line weave material.

Secondly, the body seams hitherto have been a great source of weakness because there was a constant tendency for them to pull apart. Inasmuch as the seam in my novel construction comprises a four ply seam with the engaging thread securing the outermost positioned relatively strong flannel with the velvet engaged between these two flannel pieces, the strength of the bond is primarily the strength of the flannel and secondarily the strength of the velvet, thus providing an entirely satisfactory bond. Furthermore, in this construction there is no possibility of the light colored flannel showing in the gar- 5 ment which, of course, is quite essential. This seam is then flattened down by spreading the inturned edges so that it does not add a bulky effect to the garment.

Thirdly, the particular construction of my in- 10 vention also makes for increased warmth. Although it is possible to hang a flannel interlining between the velvet and a silk or rayon lining, the bonded engagement of the flannel and velvet as provided by my invention is entirely superior.

Fourthly, the close lamination of the fleecy flannel material and velvet material provides the proper feel to the material and suificient body to form an entirely superior wrap. This is because, although there is no physical engagement 20' between the two materials throughout the area, there is definitely a frictional or adhesive contact that maintains two particular materials as a single material.

Finally the combined fabrics of my wrap con- 26 struction measurably prevents wrinkling inasmuch as there is a direct cushioning when the velvet is creased, and this cushioning effect practically prevents the material from taking creases or wrinkles as it ordinarily would. This non- 30' wrinkling effect is particularly enhanced because of the fleecy nature of the flannel which is in direct contact with the velvet.

The above-mentioned features illustrate five new and unexpected results which are obtained 35 by the novel wrap construction of my invention.

It is the object of my invention to provide a novel evening wrap construction.

It is another object of my invention to secure directly to velvet a fleecy material to provide non- 40 sagging, non-wrinkling, increased seam strength and good body for a velvet evening wrap.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a closely superimposed velvet and flannel backing in an evening wrap.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a novel method of forming an evening wrap by superimposing flannel in close engagement with the velvet, stitching the two materials in the form of the section to be employed, cutting out the 50 section, and securing two such sections together by laying one section on top of the other with the flannel backing in each case lying outermost, stitching the two sections together with a stitch running below the stitching that joins the flannel 55 to the velvet and flattening the seam so produced.

These and other objects of my invention will become apparent from the more detailed description which follows in connection with the drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective of the evening wrap of my invention.

Figure 2 is a view of the work table with the alternate layers of velvet and flannel laid on top of each other prior to cutting out the sections for the evening wrap.

Figure 3 shows a cut back panel section of the evening wrap showing the engagement of the velvet and the flannel by stitching.

Figure 4 is a cross-section of the improved composite velvet and flannel seam construction of my invention.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings, in Figure 1 is shown an evening wrap I of my invention. Because of the flannel backing in engagement with the velvet of the wrap the weave lines of the Velvet are maintained in their original normal position and are prevented from sagging down even after extended wear and hanging.

In Figure 2 is shown a bench 3 having alternate layers of velvet 4 and flannel 5 thereon. By means of a cutting device these multiple layers may be cut to form side and back panels for the manufacture of the wrap. The rough fleecy like surface 6 of the flannel 5 engages the velvet in frictional contact to maintain it against slippage. Because of the particular method of assembly a firm engagement of the respective layers is effected so that the cutting may be carried out without slippage and consequent error.

In Figure 3 is shown the back panel of the wrap with the flannel 5 facing forward. A stitching I secures the flannel to the velvet and runs around the border of the section.

Figure 4 shows the novel seam construction of my invention. There can be seen how the superimposed flannel over velvet is turned back at the seam and a stitching I2 runs at the point of abutment of two adjacent panels to provide the engagement at the seam. This novel construction provides that the strain upon the seam is carried by the flannel and the delicate velvet 4 is held between the outermost flannel 5 of the seam. The stitching I0 is the edge stitching of the panel shown in Figure 3.

After this engagement is effected the up turned edge of the seam is flattened down and may be held there by further stitching, if desired.

There are certain decided advantages in the present process in the actual manufacture of the velvet wrap.

Hitherto, it has been customary to assemble multiple layers of velvet, one layer on top of the other, and then cut out various sections so as to produce the various sleeves, backs, and fronts. Velvet is, of course, a very smooth and slippery material and the slippage results in incorrect cutting and consequent rejects. This slippage is responsible for a measurable loss in the manufacture of these wraps.

According to the present invention I pile up alternate layers of flannel and velvet so that the fleecy material of the flannel cloth firmly retains the velvet in place and prevents the objectionable slipping. Thus, I accomplish at the same time the formation of the proper cut sections and the prevention of the undesirable slippage.

In addition, it has been necessary to use paper between different gradients of velvet colors in the past in order to differentiate them. My method of assembly with alternate layers: of flannel and velvet eliminates the necessity of the use of paper.

Of outstanding and peculiar importance in this manufacture is the problem of the nap of the velvet pile fabric. It is necessary that the direction of the nap be the same for the sleeves as for the back and front of the garment. Thus, it would be manifestly inferior to have the nap running up on one sleeve and down on the other or in opposite directions with respect to the front of the garment and the sleeves. This requires definite positioning of the patterns on the piled layers of the velvet, and since this positioning must be in such parallel directions to produce this uniform pile direction of sleeve and coat sections, there is a greater loss of material than would be encountered if the patterns could be fitted onto the cloth in the closest relationship.

I have devised a process whereby I take a composite layer of velvet and flannel and fold the same upon itself. A multiple number of such folded composites of flannel and velvet are laid one upon the other and patterns for sleeve and wrap sections fitted thereupon as closely aspossible. Then, after the cutting of each section, there are two matched pieces in which the direction of the pile is exactly the same. At the same time the flannel has performed the valuable function of preventing any slippage between the sections and preserving the accuracy of the cutting.

I claim:

1. A wrap comprising composited fabrics,-the outer fabric being velvet and the inner fabric being a fleecy material, said fleecy material having a good frictional engagement with the smooth side of the velvet, the composite fabrics being secured together with the smooth side of the velvet and the fleecy side of the material in contact relation, the fleecy material thereby supporting the velvet.

2. A wrap comprising composited fabrics, the outer fabric being velvet and the inner fabric being fleecy flannel, said fleecy flannel having a good frictional engagement with the smooth side of the velvet, the composite fabrics being secured together with the smooth side of the velvet and the fleecy side of the flannel in contact relation, the fleecy flannel thereby supporting the velvet.

3. A wrap comprising composited fabrics, the outer fabric being velvet and the inner fabric being lambs wool, said lambs W001 having a good frictional engagement with the smooth side of the velvet, the composite fabrics being secured together with the smooth side of the velvet and the fleecy side of the lambs wool in contact relation, the lambs wool thereby supporting the velvet.

ADOLPI-I BRIEFF. 

